


Thunder in the Underworld

by Dragon_of_Dreams



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: And being badass, Battled with Word Limit, Canon-Typical Violence, Dungeon, Gen, Hyrule (Linked Universe)-centric, Just some boys having fun in a dungeon, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Linked Universe Zine Piece, Sky and Hyrule Duo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28217523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_of_Dreams/pseuds/Dragon_of_Dreams
Summary: Surrounded by monsters, Hyrule devices a way for him and Sky to escape: opening a path to an underground dungeon. With no other way out, the two heroes must dig deeper in order to resurface back to the overworld.Originally a Zine Piece submission for the LU discord.
Relationships: Hyrule & Sky (Linked Universe)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 41





	Thunder in the Underworld

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This was my submission for the Linked Universe Discord Zine! I hope you enjoy my piece.

“I guess we have no choice but to fight back, huh.”

Thunder. The storms concealed the skies into a blanketed darkness, drenching the world with the tears of sorrow—of a darkened history. The winds swept the heroes—split like lightning cracking the sky. But the rain did not quench the flame ignited in the heroes’ hearts, even as Hyrule and Sky found themselves cornered into a cave, swords raised skyward against the horde of monsters surrounding them.

This was familiar territory. Hyrule’s sword lit aflame with its fiery orange light, burning up the darkness with its brilliant magic. Sky’s sword shone with a bright blue light beside him, readying its divine power from the heavens. They struck, slashing out at their foes and evaporated them to dust.

Yet more came. The army of Moblins and Bokoblins resurged in the entrance, blocking their escape. Hyrule growled, behind him lay the wall of stone that made up the chamber. As Sky kept fighting off the horde Hyrule ran to the wall and hit it with the blunt of his sword. The distinct noise of its hollowness rang in response.

“Sky, keep them off! I got a plan!”

Hyrule put down a bomb and held his shield up, stepping back until he reached to Sky. An explosion burst from the bomb, flaring up the cave as it cracked the walls open.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Hyrule yanked Sky’s arm and ran, jumping off into the endless void that spoke not of doom for the traveler but of salvation: darkness that spoke of sales and shelters and secrets within its surroundings.

The two heroes then crashed to the ground, tumbling and swirling around until their bodies slammed into a halt. Hyrule winced, keeping an arm close to his chest against the pounding of his rapid heartbeat screaming within him.

“Hyrule, you okay?”

He opened his eyes. Or at least he thought he did, but he met nothing but blackness until he found Sky’s silhouette outlined in the shadows. “I’m here.” Hyrule shifted a few feet away from Sky and lifted himself back to his feet, pulling out his lantern which now revealed Sky’s relieved face into its light.

The light also revealed murals painted on the walls beside them. With mouth agape and eyes widened, Hyrule sought the murals with his lantern high in front of him—slow, delicate steps as Sky followed behind. “Look at this,” Hyrule breathed, his hand sliding across the painting of knights fighting against monsters through the stoned backdrop. “I wonder what happened here.”

Before he could hear a response, thunder rumbled beyond the walls of the underground dungeon, striking with its presence as debris fell from the ceiling—a roar akin to a monster’s threat. Stiffening, Hyrule beckoned Sky to follow deeper into the heart of the dungeon, with his lantern now hung on his belt.

Silence may have welcomed them to this place but now a horde of Keese swept from the air, slashing out at their new guests with a piercing cry. Hyrule quickly took care of them with a swing of boomerang, smirking as soon as it landed back in his hand before Sky had even a chance to unsheathe his sword. 

“I wonder what the monsters are guarding here,” Hyrule spoke aloud, noticing a locked door but no key in sight. “Maybe we can find our way out if we dig deeper.”

“How are we supposed to enter?”

“With this.” After taking out his trusted magical key, Hyrule opened the door and led through the next room. Dark murky walls greeted the heroes with Skulltula webs filled of dust. Sky let out a sudden fit of coughing, trying to swat away the dust that threatened to reach his lungs.

“You alright?”

After the coughing subsided Sky nodded, but his pained expression didn’t leave. Hyrule watched with a frown as Sky continued on, taking out a strange item he called the Gust Bellows and blew all the dust in his way away. 

The two marched on as if nothing had happened, with Hyrule cutting through the webs and the small Skulltulas residing in them while Sky kept blowing out the dust. The gust occasionally reached Hyrule, tickling him into a giggle. “S-stop!” he cried, laughing between gasps of breath.

He swore he saw the hero of the skies smirk before he stopped.

After Hyrule relaxed his breaths he stiffened, stopping short of stepping into the next room. A blade trap sliced across the walls, almost piercing through Sky’s torso had Hyrule not pulled him in time. “Careful,” Hyrule hissed. “We’ll have to run.”

Sky huffed. “I hate running.”

“Well, I guess we’re stuck here then.”

The Skyloftian frowned. The two locked eyes to the other side of the room, where a grand open door awaited them. After a nod at each other the two rushed to the door, avoiding the slicing blades and shadows haunting from the ceilings.  _ Wallmasters. _ Hyrule pulled Sky’s arm and immediately trusted through the shadowed monster hand as it landed in Sky’s place. The Wallmaster faded to dust.

The two kept running until they met another obstacle: an abyss. A whim of excitement coursed through the traveler’s blood as he jumped across and landed on his feet, whirling around with a huge grin plastered on his face as he waited for his companion to follow. Sky tensed, taking a few breaths before springing into a sprint and jumped across the ledge with a roar. He landed next to the traveler, dropping to his knee but he greeted the traveler with a smile.

Even as his heart threatened to burst like a bomb Hyrule laughed in immense relief. “Let’s keep going,” he said once his companion recovered on his feet. “There should be something at the end.”

The rest of the dungeon settled Hyrule and Sky into a routine the two were all familiar with: Pushing blocks. Avoiding traps. Killing monsters. Map and compass. The usual.

And despite its dangers Hyrule found comfort in dungeons he never did with towns. Even with the unknown he fell into a rhythm with dungeons he never could with people. Monsters meant fighting. Blocks meant puzzles. Locked doors meant keys.

People… People meant hellos. People meant scolds. People meant allies. People meant enemies. People meant family.

People. People were everything. A chest not knowing what lay inside. And Hyrule never faced chests in his era. Only in others.

Then came a chest at the end of this dark room. Brown eyes darted to Sky’s blue. The Skyloftian hero stepped forth, sword drawn in front of him.

Chests meant treasure. Chests meant traps.

Spiked gates speared from the ground and touched the ceiling, splitting the heroes apart. “Sky!” cried Hyrule. He grasped the bars, gasping as the room trembled with tremendous force as the ceiling opened up a large gap. Rain poured on the room and covered the floor.

A bulked, armored figure dropped from the ceiling with a  _ clank _ . The Darknut held his glance on Sky, now fallen to his knees. He drew his sword.

“I’ll get the Darknut,” Sky said, rising back up. “I can handle this.”

Hyrule bit his lip. His body stiffened into shivers as shrieks pierced behind him. He turned around, sword and shield on hand. Eyes glared at the army of River Zora and Tektites approaching him. The traveler swung, slashing the air as a Tektite jumped over him.

Hyrule pressed against the cold bars as he leaned back, listening to the same shrieks echoing across the gate. He shielded himself from the flames and the beasts piling on him. “Sky! Watch out for Tektites and the River Zora!” he yelled. A growl formed under his throat as he made himself smaller, burying under his shield.

Despite the overwhelming presence of monsters on him, Hyrule started muttering a word that rang chaos in his ears: the Spell spell. The room then flashed white.  _ There! _ Hyrule slashed out, cutting through the blue slime of monsters that now became Bots.

After all the Bots on his side were dealt with, Hyrule turned around, growling as soon as he realized that Sky still had to battle the Darknut—one of the few enemies unaffected by such spell, along with the newly-formed Bots still alive on his side of the gate.

“Sky, are you alright?” Hyrule cried out.

Sky flinched from the Darknut’s sword and shielded himself against the Bots jumping at him before slashing back. A glare at the traveler told him that no,  _ he was not alright,  _ but with the gate blocking the path Hyrule couldn’t help him out—and the bars hung too tight even for his fairy form to pass through them _. _ The only glimmer of hope lay at the open ceiling, where thunder roared above them.

Of course… that required the most magic out of all his spells. Hyrule took out a bottle filled with green potion and drank it all in a single sip. “Sky, I got a plan! Use a Skyward Strike!”

“Are you serious?!”

“I’ll use Thunder!”

A sparkle in the Skyloftian’s eye reached Hyrule. Sky sprinted away into the other side of the room, buying distance between him and the other monsters. Then he brought the Master Sword skyward.

Hyrule snapped his fingers.

Lightning struck the sword, charging it with a golden electrified aura. Sky then unleashed Thunder through his Skyward Strike, striking at all the foes and slicing them to dust.

With the gate now gone, Hyrule watched as Sky opened the chest and came back with a special-looking key: golden with a precious gem at the head. “A boss key,” Sky said, who then smiled at the traveler. “We’re close.”

Hyrule grinned. “Can’t believe that the others are missing out on this dungeon, huh.”

“I’m just glad we’re finding a way out.”

Still, Hyrule’s heart fluttered with excitement as they navigated through the rest of this dungeon, traveling in wonder as they found more of those mysterious murals—of a history lost to time waiting to be found, and found they did. “We should tell the others once we get out,” Hyrule said. “I wonder what they’ll all think of this.”

After some more rooms of just traps and monsters they finally landed on one last room before the boss. The traveler paused, pulling Sky by his side and put a finger on his lips before pointing across.

A large door awaited them across the room, fitted with a golden lock encased with golden chains. Strangely, Hyrule only heard silence—no monster roar reverberating through the room. But Hyrule marched on with Sky, letting his companion open the door and give one final push through the dungeon.

On the other side they saw light. Light! The duo ran off, rushing to the stairs that led to their exit—

Shut. Of course it’d suddenly get shut.

Turning around, the duo faced the piercing roars of the four-headed Manhandla. Sky was about to draw his sword when Hyrule grasped his shoulder, shaking his head at the Skyloftian knight.

“Let me handle it,” he said. “This boss is no issue.”

Without looking back, Hyrule took out a bomb and threw it over his shoulder, taking a few steps towards the door with a smirk on his face. The explosion ignited the monster in flames and in its dying roars the door opened. The duo followed the light to the overworld, finally finding safety as they met the relieved faces of their brothers.

Hyrule smiled. They had so much to tell.


End file.
